Barely relevant to the thread subject, but I have an anecdote from my time as a teacher's assistant.

I was using Microsoft Wordpad to compose class lists. Using my teacher privileges, I looked up the class schedules of the individual students I was supposed to provide services to. My senior Teacher's Assistand just printed them all out, and using scissors and paste, made up a daily rota of where she should be. Which would have worked for me too, but being a bit nerdy (and shy of classrooms) I spent some of my paid time devising a spreadsheet.

My mistake was saving drafts to "the sacred K drive." Which supposedly wasn't even open to read or write, to regular teaching staff. It was the default place to save, for any teacher using Wordpad! This was a vital piece of my defense: "you're seriously saying I hacked the school computer using wordpad?"

But what really saved me from the sack, was the aforementioned IT/metalwork teacher. I guess he fell on his sword ... but of course kept his job. Thanks anyway.

Eventually I lost that job. I really wanted to hang in for one school year, but the kids went feral in the last few weeks, and  I had a lapse of judgment (not intervening in a fight) and to be honest I was always a "savage and unnatural" Teacher's Assistant. I could have been great, but I needed more than one school year to "learn on the job."

It's a really crap job, for anyone considering it. You don't have the authority of a teacher, and you can't expect much support from teachers. You're supposed to "manage" the most difficult kids in the class, to take a load off the teacher.

I'm interested if anyone here has experience as a teacher's aide (or teacher's assistant.) My experience is of pain without much gain. I wouldn't say it was a waste of time. I learned a lot about children and in a few cases I think I helped them.

tallowood wrote on Oct 10^th, 2024 at 11:58am:


My virtual sister insulting a girlfriend I had twenty years ago, would be comic relief. We all know my real sister doesn't want me to have any girlfriends. She wants me to be gay.

BTW, Softonic's pitch is absolutely terrible. They spend a whole lot of words to say "our game is worse than The Sims."

And I know from hours of providing technical support to a Sims user, that THAT game really sucks.

Vic wrote on Oct 17^th, 2024 at 9:15am:


Information constipation?

The existence of Yadda and his ilk is evidence of such constipation.